Wasn't that an unbelievable goal by Maynor Figueroa. Surely that's the goal of the season already.

And what about those lobs? Amazing.

Do you also remember Xabi Alonso's in the FA Cup against Luton? That was from even further out than the one against Newcastle. Just ridiculous. He's a brilliant striker of the ball.

With everything that's going on at Anfield this season, Alonso will be delighted to be in Madrid. Things are that bad Jamie Carragher has admitted he's even been praying every night before bed that Liverpool win the FA Cup or the Europa League.

I said that City might finish fifth, but probably sixth. But I do think they might, and I stress just might - by the skins of their teeth - scrape into fourth and that final Champions League spot.

They added the experienced (and talented - not many defenders are as skilful as him) Kolo Toure to their squad yesterday and they look to have the makings of a good first XI, with some decent players coming off the bench.

However, I just don't think they quite have enough quality to break up the monopoly of the top four. It also takes time for a team to gel.

What do you think? Can City overtake Arsenal - especially now they have signed Emmanuel Adebayor and Toure from the Gunners?

Will City's players do well together or are there too many disruptive, difficult characters - Robinho, Craig Bellamy, Carlos Tevez (we all know how he was never shy to speak out about his situation last season) and Adebayor, to name but a few?

I also said that Antonio Valencia has not proved himself at the highest level, that is, he's not played for a top, top club like Man United, where the pressure is always on and you're expected to always produce.

With Manchester United seemingly cruising towards a third straight Premier League title after victory over Wigan this morning, all the attention is on the bottom of the table and the relegation dogfight.

Three of five teams - Sunderland, Newcastle, Hull, Middlesbrough and West Brom - could still go down. (Yes, I know Portsmouth are on 38 points, but there's no way they are going to be relegated).

Arsenal are in formidable form and will believe they can beat their arch-rivals Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final first leg.

Alex Ferguson's men welcome the Gunners to Old Trafford on the back of an uplifting second-half performance against Spurs. They were unstoppable. A class apart.

But the first-half exposed serious weaknesses. Four consecutive Premier League wins suggests otherwise, but United are not in the kind of form that inspires 100 per cent confidence. (In fact, ask many of their fans, and they'll say United have not really played that well all season).

The resignations of Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley this week have brought the director of football role into sharp focus.

Here we have prime situations where the managers have been totally undermined.

The idea that someone other than the manager can decide on which players to sign is barmy. Fine, it's always good to get someone else's opinion, but the final say - that has to rest with the man running the first team.

It's a system which breeds instability and creates an atmosphere of suspicion.

How can a manager be expected to pick a player he has not even scouted, as happened to Keegan at Newcastle this week?

Chelsea's excellent 4-0 win at West Ham is unlikely to relieve the pressure on beleaguered boss Avram Grant.

Never mind that the Israeli signed a four year contract in December, has only lost three games in 36 since he took charge and arguably exceeded expectations - his job is in danger.

It's all well and good beating the lesser sides in the Premier League - his team has so far failed the bigger tests.

They were unable to register a goal against key rivals Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester United and performed woefully in their biggest game of the campaign so far - the Carling Cup final against Spurs.

And to see Grant so brutally exposed tactically by Juande Ramos will have made Blues fans squirm and Roman Abramovich choke on his caviar.

Man United fans will have breathed a huge sigh of relief this week when Arsene Wenger revealed he was on the verge of signing Cristiano Ronaldo four-and-a-half seasons ago.

A little matter of 12.24 million pounds (Arsenal didn't have that kind of money) and Carlos Queiroz's special relationship with Sporting Lisbon were enough to have Ronaldo turning his back on north London for Manchester.

Ronaldo has been on a different planet this season and just where would United be without him?

Arsenal are playing some fantastic stuff and thoroughly deserve to be top of the Premier League.

After a mediocre 2006/07 [by their lofty standards] and the sale of Thierry Henry, the Gunners were written off by many a pundit, critic and football fan at the start of the season.

"Fourth was the best they could hope for," said some.

"Another year of transition," said others.

But Arsene Wenger knew different. He has moulded a side capable of playing in the exhilarating way to which we have become accustomed, but which has the steel and tenacity to scrap their way through games and come out on top.

So what's happened? Why have Arsenal been able to confound the critics and get off to their best ever Premier League start?

Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson will have mixed feelings after Saturday's clash.

Wenger will be relieved Arsenal escaped with a draw, and proud his team came back from a losing position again, just like they did at Liverpool last week. However, at home, he would have been hoping to win the game.

Ferguson will be livid Man United gave away the lead - twice - but I'm sure not too disappointed to come away with a draw. Arsenal have been in excellent form and he hasn't let them take a three point lead.

He'll also still be salivating over his team's second goal, which will have all football fans smiling for a long time. What a pass? And what a run off the ball? Fantastic!

The players revelled in the match and put on a display of exceptional skill. And this is how I rated them:

Before I start, how good was Wayne Rooney's pass to Carlos Tevez? And what about Frank Lampard's pass to Didier Drogba for Chelsea's second? That's why I love football so much.

As well as Chelsea played this weekend though, it's Tottenham who stole the headlines with the appointment of Juande Ramos to replace Martin Jol.

Jol has been on a hiding to nothing since chairman Daniel Levy, vice-chairman Paul Kemsley and sporting director Damien Comolli went to Seville in August to try and persuade Ramos to take the Dutchman's place.

Since then it has been a case of when he would go rather than if.

Results haven't helped, with Spurs cemented in the bottom three (even before the dismal defeat to Blackburn overnight), but Levy and co have to take a huge chunk of responsibility for that.

How was Jol supposed to do his job to the best of his ability when he had been so cruelly undermined?

When Chelsea's players return from international duty they will be met by a new coach - Henk ten Cate.

After an unsuccessful spell in charge at Ajax, the Dutchman has joined the Blues as assistant manager.

With a reputation for attacking football, it's clear that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has brought in Ten Cate to help transform his team into the free-flowing side he so desperately craved under Jose Mourinho.

As assistant to Frank Rijkaard, Ten Cate was the mastermind behind Barcelona's Primera Liga titles in 2005 and 2006 (and Champions League triumph of the same season) and it is no coincidence that last season, with Ten Cate gone, the Blaugranas failed to retain their title - or produce quite the same fluent, exhilarating football for which they had become reknowned.

It was attack, attack, attack at Ajax as well, with the Amsterdam side scoring freely (although unfortunately for Ten Cate, conceding freely as well) during his brief time in charge.

But Ten Cate's appointment is only the first of many backroom changes we are set to see at Chelsea now that the Special One has left - starting at the top, with the manager.

Wayne Rooney's fractured foot has left Manchester United seriously depleted up front.

And there's only one person to blame for that - Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson knew very well that Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were injury prone, so to go into the season with only one other proven, recognised striker, Carlos Tevez (and remember he signed him so late he couldn't even play in the first game - what if that deal hadn't gone through?), is a serious aberration on the Scotsman's part.

I mean, for goodness sake. He had to play John O'Shea up front for half an hour against Reading!

Now I know you can't always account for injuries during a game, and unexpected circumstances like Rooney's injury can occasionally leave you no choice but to play someone of O'Shea's ilk up front.

For a start, I hate friendlies. And that's what the Community Shield is - one big, glorified friendly. Two teams trying hard to do everything but try hard. What a waste of time.

The result doesn't matter. The goal scorers don't matter. The substitutions don't matter. None of it matters. But that's not football. Football matters.

But for some reason I was sitting there watching the game at stupid o'clock and I was loving it. Not because of the tat Man United and Chelsea offered up. But because I knew once the final whistle went it was the end. The end of watching crap friendlies. The end of two months of misery.

The Premier League and my life were back - well they would be in six days anyway, which was close enough.